by Arden Hayes
Mr. Cake pulled a few trays from the fridge. They worked quietly, sometimes laughing at different memories from Sugarcube Corner. There was the time Pinkie had accidentally made a “cat” cake when she misheard a woman who’d said “car.” Or the times Mr. Cake put on music, and they danced while they cleaned up the café. Mrs. Cake had once slipped and tossed a bowl of batter in the air, and it had gone all over Pinkie’s head. She had picked bits of chocolate out of her ears for days.
Pinkie piped the marshmallow filling into each of her mocha cupcakes, letting it calm her down. She hoped everything would go perfectly tonight, even if she hadn’t planned the party. And, most important, she hoped there’d be more days like this to come, with her in Sugarcube Corner, enjoying its sweetness.
A half hour had passed before Rarity finally came into the back room. The Cakes had returned to their office to go through the paperwork for the week. Pinkie Pie was arranging the last of the peanut butter cookies on a plate.
“Can we talk?” Rarity asked. She seemed nervous.
Outside, the Comeback Kids were finishing their warm-up. Pinkie Pie had actually enjoyed the last few songs she’d heard. She kept bopping her head to the music. “Sure,” she said softly.
“I feel as if you’re mad at me for taking over the party planning,” Rarity started. She set aside the plate of cookies and began arranging the mocha cupcakes on another platter. “I just had this vision of how it would go. I want this night to be the best it can be.”
“So do I,” Pinkie Pie said. “But I had a vision, too. And I felt as if you just thought all my ideas were silly.”
“Oh, that’s not true at all,” Rarity tried. She leaned both elbows on the table and watched Pinkie Pie closely.
“Remember outside? When we were talking?” Pinkie asked. “You kept shouting out hashtags, even though I’d already told you the theme I wanted. And you booked the band without even asking me first.”
Rarity tilted her head to one side. She seemed to be considering it. “I guess you’re right,” she admitted. “But I really know what this night should be. I know you’ve been a party planner for ages, and you’ve worked at Sugarcube Corner much longer than I have, but you have to trust me on this.”
“I do trust you, deep, deep, deep down. But… it’s just kind of hard because I’m worried the Cakes will lose everything. And”—as soon as Pinkie Pie thought it, she knew it was true—“that I’ll lose everything. I don’t know what I’ll do if Sugarcube Corner closes. I love this place so much.”
“Which is why it’s almost better that I plan the party,” Rarity said. “I can really see all the potential here. Look, I know I’m not that great at keeping track of pickup orders or getting here on time, or… um… working, really. But I think I did a really great job for tonight. I think we’re going to be okay.”
“Really?” Pinkie Pie felt better just hearing those words.
“Really.”
“I guess it was hard for me, too.…” Pinkie Pie tried to find the right way to say it. “Because Mr. and Mrs. Cake really like you. And I’m used to being the person they rely on for everything.”
“I know,” Rarity said. “Can I show you something?”
She grabbed Pinkie Pie’s hand and pulled her to the doorway. Pinkie Pie stared out at the café. It was hardly recognizable. It was shimmering with silver and gold stars. Twilight Sparkle was adding gold streamers to the step and repeat outside, and the Comeback Kids had brought in their own lighting system. There were tiny gold lights twinkling throughout the room. The ceiling looked like the night sky.
“Wow. It really does look great.” Pinkie meant it.
She turned to her friend and wrapped her arms around her. It felt good to agree with her friend again. With all the little things piling up between them, it had been easy to forget they were on the same side.
“Thanks for all the help,” Pinkie said. “I think a capital-G Glamorous party might be just what Sugarcube Corner needs.”
“Fingers crossed,” Rarity said.
“Fingers and toes and eyes crossed,” Pinkie agreed, making a silly face.
Rarity laughed, and that’s when Pinkie Pie was sure they’d really made up.
“What are those?” Rarity asked, stepping back into the kitchen. She went over to the tray of mocha cupcakes Pinkie Pie had frosted. She’d been so happy chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Cake that she’d made three dozen of them without even blinking.
“That’s the recipe…” Pinkie Pie said. “Or what I have so far. The mocha cocoa cupcake. I’d hoped it would be ready to sell at Sugar on the Corner, but I don’t know. Feels as if we’re running out of time.”
Rarity closed her eyes and breathed in. “These smell so good. Like campfires and s’mores and hot cocoa. All the best things. Can I try one?”
“Of course.” Pinkie Pie leaned on the counter. “But just be warned. It isn’t the finished recipe. There’s still work to do. I think maybe I have to tweak the frosting a bit or even—”
“Mmmmmm.…” Rarity raised her eyebrows as she savored the first bite. She took another bite, then another. She almost ate the whole thing before she spoke. “You don’t have to do anything else. This is the best cupcake I’ve ever tasted.”
“Really?” Pinkie knew Rarity wanted to make her feel better, but she really didn’t have to go this far. The best cupcake she’d ever tasted?
“Really. We should do a taste test. I’m telling you, it’s true.” Rarity popped the last bite into her mouth. Then she cupped her hand over her mouth and called out into the café. “Rainbow Dash, Twilight! You have to try this cupcake for us!”
The two girls darted into the kitchen. Twilight had been so busy decorating for the party that she still had some streamers in her arms. Rarity picked up two more mocha cupcakes and passed them to Rainbow Dash and Twilight. They each ate them in just a few bites.
“Whoa, that is incredible,” Rainbow Dash said. She reached for another one, but Pinkie grabbed her hand. She’d only made so many!
“Seriously—so good,” Twilight agreed. “Who made that? Mrs. Cake?”
“Pinkie Pie did! She’s a true culinary genius!” Rarity clapped and cheered. “I want to shout it from the rooftops! This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
Pinkie Pie’s cheeks turned red. She knew the cupcake was good, but she didn’t realize how good until that very moment. She saw it sometimes at the bakery. When a batch of a certain cookie came out just right, people would go crazy for it. She’d actually seen a lady jump up and down over a particularly delicious piece of pumpkin pie.
“Wait…” Pinkie Pie went into the fridge and looked at the trays they hadn’t yet iced. She still had one more, and then the three dozen cupcakes she’d already frosted, minus the few her friends had just eaten. “This is incredible. I have an idea.…”
“I had perfect timing on this, and I didn’t even mean to!” Pinkie Pie said, glancing around at her friends. “Do we still have those cookie boxes, Rarity? The ones you ordered that…”
Pinkie Pie was trying to be nice, so she didn’t finish her thought. The first week Rarity had worked at Sugarcube Corner, she made a big purchase of cookie boxes, only she ordered the wrong size. When they’d come in, they were way too small—three inches tall and three inches wide. Pinkie Pie had told her she could give them away, but Rarity had been stubborn. She kept telling Pinkie she’d find something to use them for.
“I put them right here.” Rarity grabbed a stack of flat boxes from a bottom cabinet. She set them down on the counter.
Pinkie folded the top one into shape. Then she put one of the mocha cupcakes inside and closed it. It was a perfect fit.
“I see where you’re going with this…” Rarity said, excited. She ran into the other room and came back with some silver stars and ribbons. She scribbled the words The Mocha Marvel on a star, then wrapped the box with ribbon and tucked the star in the top. It looked very professional.
“Hmm… the Mocha Marve
l.” Pinkie Pie repeated the name. It did have a good ring to it. “We can give these out at the party tonight.”
“Or even better—we’ll sell them,” Rarity said. “And we don’t have enough for everyone.”
“Exclusive.” Pinkie Pie laughed, echoing Rarity’s favorite word.
“Exclusive!” Rarity agreed. “This is the new big thing in Equestria, and no one but us knows it yet. Forget cake pops or cronuts—the Mocha Marvel is where it’s at.”
“A phenomenon!” Pinkie Pie smiled.
“Let’s get these wrapped up. We don’t have much time,” Rarity said as Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy rushed in to help. They folded the boxes as fast as they could.
The friends started their own little production line. Once Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash had finished making a box, they passed it to Rarity, who put a cupcake in as gently as she could. Pinkie Pie frosted the rest of the cupcakes while Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer attached the ribbons and labels. Applejack mostly just stood there and acted as an unofficial taste tester. She swiped a spoonful of frosting whenever she could.
They kept at it for a while, filling box after box. When they were finally done, they had almost fifty boxes, each with one cupcake inside. Just enough so kids would have to really scramble if they wanted to try a Mocha Marvel for themselves.
It was hard for Pinkie Pie to admit, but Rarity had been right about the whole “exclusive” thing. It was better to have more demand than supply.
They went to the Sugarcube Corner bathroom to get changed and do their hair, and Rarity was more excited than she had been the whole week. She kept coming up with a million different hashtags.
“#MarvelousNight, #MarvelingTonight, #IMarvel, #MochaMarvelMe…” she said as she brushed her hair. She stuck a bow in the side and raised her eyebrows, as if she were having a Eureka! moment. “#MochaMarvelMe! That’s the one!”
“I love it,” Fluttershy said.
“So shareable!” Twilight Sparkle agreed.
Pinkie Pie tugged on one of her favorite dresses, which had a big pink skirt and brighter pink flouncy blouse. She wore her hair down, and Sunset Shimmer helped her with the back of it, making sure all her curls fell right.
When she was all done getting ready, Pinkie stared at her reflection in the small mirror, happier than she had felt in a long time. The party would start in just a half hour. Kids would be lined up outside the door of Sugarcube Corner, excited about the café and its food and all the fun they’d have there. They’d take pictures in the photo booth and make social media posts about how cool Sugar on the Corner was. Then they’d eat her special cupcake, the recipe she’d worked on for months, and they’d love it.
She smiled at herself, her blue eyes bright with possibility.
She had a feeling it was going to be a truly marvelous night.
The Comeback Kids danced around as they played their first song, “You’re the One.” Red Forest shimmied and shook when he belted out the lyrics. “You know you’re smart and you’re in my heart; and you’re the one,” he sang. “You’re in my heart; you are the onnnnne.”
A dozen Canterlot High girls were in the front row cheering him on. It was a little sappy for Pinkie Pie’s taste, but she understood why everyone loved them so much. They were all really cute, and their music was genuinely catchy. Since the party had started, she hadn’t stopped nodding her head. Every song made her want to get up and dance.
“You were right,” she said, pulling Rarity over to her. “If we were playing with the Sonic Rainbooms, we would be performing all night. We wouldn’t have the chance to enjoy this.”
“I know, and it’s been so great, right?” Rarity asked.
“Better than I ever could’ve imagined.” Pinkie glanced through the window at the line to get in. Mr. Cake was standing at the door. He was flustered by the line of dressed-up Canterlot High kids asking him over and over again when they could go inside. He could let only one kid in after a kid left. They were already at capacity!
Dozens of people had taken photos in the photo booth, and even more had gone through the step and repeat. All night, Pinkie had seen pictures popping up everywhere on social media. Everyone was talking about how great Sugarcube Corner was. People were even speculating about what the “big surprise” would be.
The song ended, and Red Forest wiped his sweaty bangs out of his eyes. “I want to thank you all for coming out,” he said breathlessly. “You’ve all been wondering what we’re here for tonight, and it’s a little thing called the Mocha Marvel.”
The room broke out into whispers. Red Forest seemed to be enjoying the drama because he let people go on for a little bit, trying to figure out what he meant.
“Look, I’ve tried this thing,” Red Forest finally said. “And it is the best cupcake I’ve ever had. I mean, it’s not really a cupcake… it’s a piece of heaven. And it’s available now at Sugarcube Corner. There’s only a limited supply tonight, though, so line up at the counter if you’re interested.”
The whole party shifted. Everyone darted over to the counter, where Sunset Shimmer and Mrs. Cake had all the boxes piled high. Mrs. Cake rang up the orders as fast as she could, but as soon as they’d given a box to one person, there was someone right behind them asking for another.
Kids began ripping open the boxes with an intensity Pinkie Pie had never seen before. Ribbons and stars were all over the floor. “Whoa! I can’t believe how good it is!” one girl with a high bun yelled. “You have to try it.”
The girl’s friend waited in line, looking nervous that she might not get one. As more people left the photo booth or step and repeat to get their Mocha Marvel, the Comeback Kids started the next song. It was a fast number called “You’ve Got What It Takes.”
As Red Forest belted out the first line, Pinkie Pie swore he looked over at her and winked.
Pinkie Pie had set up an assembly line in the back room. Even with Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack working together, they still couldn’t put the boxes together fast enough. It had been almost a week since Sugar on the Corner, and the demand for the Mocha Marvel had not slowed down at all.
“My hands hurt,” Fluttershy said as she folded her hundredth box of the day.
“Mine too,” Applejack added. She was in charge of wrapping the ribbon around the boxes and tying it in a bow.
“That was the last one!” Pinkie Pie said. She’d just piped the filling into the final Mocha Marvel. She’d been baking a hundred a day, and even that wasn’t enough to keep up with all the people who’d come into the café.
After the party, word had spread quickly. At first it was mainly Canterlot High kids who’d come in, asking for their newest dessert. But then it seemed as if everyone in town had heard about it. There were young moms and their kids, a senior group from Canterlot Gardens, and Mrs. Cake’s knitting club. Just this afternoon a whole pack of Crystal Prep students had walked into Sugarcube Corner, asking what a Mocha Marvel was. Pinkie Pie had been so surprised she’d dropped a mug of hot chocolate.
The best part was, people hadn’t just tried it once. They were coming back for more. There was one freshman from Canterlot who’d come in every day that week to eat a Mocha Marvel after school. Then there was Feathers Grey, who seemed the most addicted of anyone. He’d started eating two cupcakes whenever he read his book, and he always took two cupcakes home with him to share with his whole family.
“How are we doing back here?” called out Mr. Cake. He came in and picked up another big stack of boxes to take out to the front. “Thanks for pitching in, girls. The way this is going, we should be able to give you shifts this whole month.”
“I don’t know if my hands can take it anymore,” Fluttershy said softly.
Mrs. Cake peeked in her head. She looked happier than Pinkie had ever seen her, her smile big and bright. “Don’t work too hard, girls!” she called out. “The next Sugar on the Corner is just two days away. You have to save some of your energy for dancing!”
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Pinkie Pie and Rarity each grabbed an armful of boxes and brought them out front. They stacked them on a new table they’d set up just to hold the supply of Mocha Marvels. Every seat in the place was taken. It was mostly Canterlot High students, but there were new faces, too. It seemed as if customers became regulars pretty quickly after trying the cupcake.
“It worked,” Rarity said, staring out at the crowd. “I mean, I thought it would, but it really did!”
“You were right.” Pinkie Pie smiled as she looked at the line out the door. It had been like this every afternoon since Sugar on the Corner.
“We both were right,” Rarity corrected. “If you hadn’t kept baking, doing what you do best, none of this would’ve happened. You saved Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie Pie waved her off, trying to dismiss it, but she couldn’t stop beaming with pride. In fact, she hadn’t stopped smiling the whole week. As she darted around the café, clearing tables and chatting with customers, she felt lighter than ever.
Sugarcube Corner was here to stay. And nothing, not even a Butter’s Bakery with fireplaces, could change that.
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Did you like sharing sweets with Pinkie Pie?
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